


not a damn thing will go wrong

by synchronicities



Series: it took us a lifetime to find each other [3]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Multi, Third-wheeling, Vacation, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-09-16 19:28:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9286565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/synchronicities/pseuds/synchronicities
Summary: “How about this,” he says, getting off the lounge and sitting next to her on the bed. “All three of us will go to Alola! We’ll go a couple days early, so we can make the most of it, so when the wedding rolls around, it’s just another thing on the itinerary. Arceus knows you and Lucas could use the vacation, and Dad doesn’t really monitor me that strictly.”Fortuneshipping: Dawn brings Barry and Lucas as her plus-ones to Red and Blue's wedding. Barry just wants her and Lucas to sort out their feelings.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I LOVE FORTUNESHIPPING it is my favorite protag ship. welcome to the comedic interlude of the Loosely-Connected Series Covering Red and Blue's Wedding. i tried to make this serious but dawn and barry's banter got outta hand, man those kids love each other
> 
> Title from the Barenaked Ladies.

“You don’t _have_ to go,” says Barry. He’s lounging on her villa’s chaise, fiddling with some ancient video game console she’s picked up and left here. Actually, that statement could be applied to everything in this villa – Dawn is many things, but an interior decorator is not one of them. “It’s not like you’re _personal_ friends with them.”

Dawn glares at him – which, _what_ , he’s supposed to be on her side on this one. “It’s polite.”

“May is going. You _like_ May,” Barry tries.

“I can always _call_ May if I want to see her. It’s not like the timezones are that different.”

“Your Elite Four is going, it’ll be weird if they’re there and you aren’t,” he tries again, because Dawn’s retreated to that state where she _wants_ him to give her reasons to go even if knows she should. She used to pull it all the time when they were kids.

“Not all of them, just Flint and Bertha, and I know Flint just wants to go to the beach.” She pouts mid-braid, sighs, and runs her fingers through her hair again.

He raises an eyebrow. “So that just means you _have_ to go to boost the numbers. I mean, who’ll care about the others if you’re there?”

“Cynthia’s going,” Dawn says.

“Cynthia’s not the Champion anymore, Dawn, _you are_. We’ve _had_ this conversation.” He frowns. “I already said, if you don’t want to go, then don’t – it’s not like it’s in your job description to party it up when another Champion gets married.” Of course it wasn’t – most Champions just wound up married to the job, anyway, and Barry _knows_ Dawn’s scared of that, to be capable of so much but wind up stifled by her position.

“No, I meant Cynthia’s _going_ ,” Dawn tells him, like that makes things any clearer. “She’s staying in Alola, afterwards.”

“Oh. What?”

She relays her conversation with Cynthia – that there are plans to put up a League in Alola, and they’re calling in experts from around the world to pitch in. Cynthia, who’s been looking brighter and brighter the more she’d been traveling after stepping down as Champion, had graciously volunteered to go. “Although she probably just wants to go to the beach, too,” Dawn grumbles, putting her hair up in a bun. “Why is Sinnoh temperate? I want good beaches. She’s going to have _such_ a good tan.”

“We have Sunyshore, and Sandgem,” Barry feels the need to point out.

“Have you _seen_ Melemele Island?”

“No. No, of course I haven’t seen Melemele Island.” He sighs. “So why are Red and – Blue, was it? – going, if they still have positions to hold?” Barry asks. He’s still not sure what this line of conversation has to do with the issue at hand.

“Well, they’re getting _married_ ,” Dawn says, with a small smile. “They have people to sub in for them, anyway. And Cynthia said that Red said they didn’t want to be cooped up in the League all the time, so this is kind of like – a paid vacation. With work.” She smiles at him. “Isn’t that nice?”

He rolls his eyes, exasperated. “So what I’m getting from this is – you actually want to go, because you need the fresh air and like you said, Alola is beautiful, you’re not actually going to mind the guest list too much, there will probably be good booze at the reception, and the only reason you’re not going is because you’re scared of being confronted with people who are getting more out of the Champion gig than you are right now.”

Dawn nods her head, and he feels a small surge of victory before she adds, “That’s not the only reason, though. I have to bring a plus one, right?”

“Uh – no? Dawn, that’s not actually a rule. If anything, you’ll save the wedding planner money because that’s one less mouth to feed.”

“Be my plus one, Barry,” she pleads, turning on those puppy-dog eyes that got her out of so much trouble as a little girl. “I don’t want to field questions about how I’m going to die old and alone.”

Normally, Barry would cave, but she actually looks so desperate that he laughs. “Dawn, you’re not even twenty-one, literally nobody is going to ask that. And have you thought that maybe going on an international trip with me isn’t going to help the will-they-or-won’t-they thing the tabloids have going? You know it’s bad for my reputation. My _mom_ thinks we’re dating.”

Her pout doesn’t leave her face, and although he knows they’re thinking the same thing, he says it anyway. “You can always just bring Lu–” he starts, at the same time she screeches, “ _I can’t just bring Lucas_!”

In hindsight, this entire conversation is hilarious, but right now Barry is focused on being a good friend, and sometimes being a good friend means giving it to them straight. “Aha! So you don’t actually care about the guest list or your existential angst, you just want to bring Lucas but you don’t want to admit it.”

Dawn turns an absolutely beautiful shade of scarlet. “I can’t just bring him,” she repeats, downcast. “You just basically said why.”

The truth is – Sinnoh tabloids have imagined an entire love triangle involving him, Dawn, and Lucas, and it was kind of fun at first, but now he just really wants to tell them to fuck off because Lucas and Dawn have been dancing around each other for a _really_ long time.  Of course, he’s not ever going to do that because Dawn would never forgive him and Lucas would probably have a heart attack out of embarrassment, but it’s a nice fantasy to indulge in every so often while waiting for Lucas and Dawn to get their shit together.

It’s taking a while.

If Dawn brings just one of them, though, the media will have a field day, and he knows her well enough to know that she’s not too comfortable with inviting anyone else. So Barry suggests something that he regrets for the next month of his life.

“How about this,” he says, getting off the lounge and sitting next to her on the bed. “All three of us will go to Alola! We’ll go a couple days early, so we can make the most of it, so when the wedding rolls around, it’s just another thing on the itinerary. Arceus knows you and Lucas could use the vacation, and Dad doesn’t really monitor me that strictly.”

Her brow furrows, and he can tell she’s turning the suggestion over in her head. “It can’t be that bad, right? A vacation among friends! Yeah!”

“Just like old times, right? And we can see Melemele Island, and all the other islands, that volcano…” Barry actually has no idea what there is to see in the League’s apparent new favorite region, but the idea of a beach holiday is very appealing, and if Dawn will get them there, then all the better for it. Besides, he was always the spontaneous one. “You can swing it, I’m sure, it _is_ for a wedding, and I’m sure Rowan will let Lucas come around eventually.”

“May’s going, and she’ll probably bring Brendan,” she’s muttering. “Lucas likes them, he’s always going on trips to Professor Birch – and Professor Oak is Blue’s grandfather! He’s wanted to meet him forever!” She turns a dazzling smile his way. “Wow, Barry – when did you become the rational friend?”

Yeah, he doesn’t know either.

* * *

 

A few hours into traveling with Dawn and Lucas, Barry realizes that he has never actually traveled with Dawn and Lucas.

Sure, they got their starters at around the same time, and the occasional battle on Mt. Coronet is one thing, but they went their separate ways for the most part. To be sandwiched between them as they talk over his attempts to watch a movie on the plane – that’s a whole other thing. He knows that Dawn and Lucas like each other, but he had no idea how they _liked_ each other with him around.

He didn’t even _ask_ for this. He was in the clear, in the aisle seat, all ready to sleep the eight-hour flight away, and then Lucas whispers _Barry please switch with me I can’t sit next to Dawn please_. And, you know – fuck them, there’s no point in asking to switch if they’re just going to make heart-eyes and have flowing conversation _over his movie_ – Barry just wants to know how Rosa Blanchard’s character defeats Brycen-Man at the end, okay.

“Yeah, the conference went really well,” Lucas is saying in Barry’s left ear. “Professor Sycamore said that in the future, I can collaborate with him and Professor Rowan on Mega Evolution in Sinnoh!”

“That’s amazing, Lucas!” Dawn says in Barry’s right ear. She’s looking especially starry-eyed today, but Barry’s not sure Lucas can notice over his own blush. “Imagine – your name in a published paper. I can’t believe it, you’ve really come so far.”

“Oh, and I heard you were trying out the Super Contests! You’re doing really well, too!”

Barry turns up the volume.

They have a two-hour layover in Kanto three hours into the flight, during which Dawn and Lucas fall asleep on each other in the airport, forcing Barry to stay awake and watch their stuff, but it’s worth it when he sees the looks on their faces when they spring apart. When they board again, Barry forces Lucas to switch seats with him. They can sort out their own stupid feelings without interrupting his Brycen-Man marathon, thanks.

They land in Alola in the mid-afternoon, and Barry whoops and hollers when they get to the hotel suite. He’s never enjoyed Sinnoh’s long, cold winters, stealing time away to visit warmer cities when he can, so Hau’oli City is honestly a delight. He’s never seen so much _ocean_ or _sky_ all at once, and the air just feels fresh and sweet with possibility.

Dawn disappears into her bedroom as soon as the door closes behind the bellboy, ostensibly to fret about Champion business she’d had to ignore on the plane, leaving Barry and Lucas alone in the common area.

Lucas glances at him, apologetic. “Barry–”

“Save it,” Barry shoots, before stomping into his room and slamming the door for extra effect.

* * *

 

All things considered, they’re actually decent traveling companions – Dawn is goal-oriented, Lucas is detail-oriented, and Barry’s an impatient person who just wants them to get a move on, already. Dawn picks the sights to see, Lucas figures out how to get there, and Barry provides motivational speeches and takes the pictures. It’s a great system.

“How’s this vacation going for you?” Barry asks Dawn on the second day, when they’re waiting for Lucas on the outskirts of Wela Volcano Park.

“I think it was a good idea,” Dawn says.

Barry’s honestly a little impressed at how even her voice sounds, so he leans in and exaggeratedly stage-whispers in her ear, “I still think you should just tell Lucas the only wedding you actually want to go to is your wedding to him.”

She steps on his foot, and he covers up his yell of shock when Lucas catches up to them a few moments later, his infernape in tow. “Kiawe says we should head down to Lush Jungle after this; his friend’s family owns a restaurant there – we can have lunch and take pictures,” Lucas says, slightly out of breath and oblivious to Barry’s wincing.

Barry glares hard at Dawn, who sticks her nose up at him.

Oh, okay. That’s how it is.

“Lucas!” he calls, turning on the camera. “Lemme take a picture of you and Dawn right there, the view is gorgeous!”

Lucas’s eyes widen and Dawn’s jaw honestly drops a little. It’s the best. “Join us!” Lucas says, the embarrassment clear in his voice.

“I’m too lazy to take out the tripod, just move already,” Barry whines. “Now stand right there, you guys.” Dawn frowns at him and moves closer to Lucas, who looks as tense as a wild bidoof ready to spring away at any moment. “Okay, geez – Lucas, move closer to Dawn, please, put your arms around her shoulders – Dawn, try not to look like you wanna die. Aaaand – there!”

They jump apart as soon as he flashes the thumbs up, decidedly not looking at each other and blushing, and he bites down a laugh. It is honestly a gorgeous picture. Dawn’s going to cry when he flashes it at their wedding.

Infernape makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like a snort. _You and me both, buddy_.

* * *

 

Akala Island tired them out, so the next day has Barry and Lucas lounging on the beach fronting their hotel. Dawn is having a Very Important Conference Call with her Elite Four, so Barry has a few more minutes to finish his pina colada and make Lucas squirm.

“You wanna know why she brought both of us?” he says finally, after two minutes of pointedly slurping through his straw and staring at his friend through his sunglasses.

“She didn’t want to go alone or deal with the media storm,” Lucas replies in the matter-of-fact way he goes about everything. “And she wanted us to enjoy Alola. Which I do. Alola is nice,” he adds.

“Nah, that’s not it,” says Barry. “Or, well, kind of. I did say _vacation_ , didn’t I?” He frowns. “Anyway, she brought both of us because she didn’t want to bring just you.”

Lucas’s face falls, and Barry kind of feels bad. Lucas doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. “Oh.”

“No,” he says, guilt flooding him. “What I meant was, she wanted to bring just you _but_ she didn’t want to deal with the media storm.” He sighs. “Just ask her out, she won’t say no.”

Color splashes across Lucas’s cheekbones. He doesn’t say anything in response to that but is clearly looking contemplative, so Barry instead gazes at the ocean. He lets out his torterra, which promptly yawns and decides to fall asleep on the sand next to them, and his floatzel, which scampers towards the water happily, calling out to him.

 _You go ahead, buddy_ , he mouths. _We’re waiting for Dawn_.

“Aw, you waited for me!” Speak of the devil. His childhood friend is standing on the stone pavement leading to the beach in a swimsuit and a shawl, her smile sheepish. “Sorry I’m late.”

Lucas turns a very interesting shade of red. “D-dawn,” he says, stumbling over the words. “You look – you look, er, nice.”

Dawn’s telltale blush in response is partially covered by her wide-brimmed hat. “Thanks – thanks, Lucas! Should we go into the water?” She shoots a pleading look at Barry.

He rolls his eyes exaggeratedly. Arceus take him now.

* * *

 

The wedding itself is – _fine_ , or as fine as a wedding can be if you have no emotional attachment to either of the people getting married. It’s certainly very pretty – during the ceremony itself, Barry finds himself looking more and more at the decorations and paying less and less attention – and Dawn might actually have teared up at some points.

The reception is a whole other matter.

Lucas had disappeared early on, ostensibly to deliver something to Professor Oak from Professor Rowan (“It’s the only reason he let me come!” he’d said) and May from Hoenn had dragged Dawn off somewhere, leaving Barry alone in a crowd of strangers with access to seemingly unlimited champagne. It escalates fairly quickly – he goes from sampling everything at the dessert buffet and making small talk with Volkner to stopping someone’s dragonite from wrecking everything, to patting some guy’s back as he threw up in the bathroom, to peeling Flint off the floor and handing him off to Bertha. As the night wars on and neither of his friends come into sight, he’s about to quietly slip away before –

“Do you wanna know how Blue told me he was gay?” The maid of honor plops down next to him, grinning widely.

“Not really, no,” he says. He thinks of apologizing to her for sending in their RSVPs late, to no avail – she’s already started talking.

“So, imagine – we were having sex!” She begins, seemingly unaware of how Barry’s eye is twitching. “For the first time! And like, in the middle of doing the deed, he just pulls himself off, says – _Leaf, I think I’m gay_ , and just – what the fuck, man, how the fuck am I supposed to react to that? Am I supposed to be, like, offended or supportive? But I–”

“Aaaand that’s enough from you, holy shit,” says Blue Oak himself, smiling at Barry sheepishly. Leaf seemingly forgets her story, squeals, and hugs him, and he sighs and scoops her up in his arms.

“Oh, my god,” says Barry. This is honestly so unfair – of all the places to meet Blue Oak, battle legend and childhood hero? “That sounded like stuff I wasn’t supposed to know. Sorry.” Understatement of the century.

Blue Oak doesn’t seem to care that some stranger knows weird facts about his personal life, because all he does is smile charmingly at Barry. “It’s fine. We let her get smashed because she’s been stressed wedding planning these past few months, but I think it’s bedtime now.”

“You can’t tuck me in, we’re not _nine_ ,” Leaf whines, and Barry abandons all his life goals and principles and wishes for Giratina to transport him to the Distortion World forever, this is _that_ horrible.

“I don’t believe we’ve met, by the way,” says Blue, cheerfully ignoring Barry’s stony face. “You are?”

“Barry Rushmore,” he says, awkward. “Congrats on your wedding! Uh, I came with–”

“Oh, Palmer’s kid!” Blue says it breezily, shaking Barry’s hand. “You’re Dawn’s plus one, right? I just saw her, by the right side of the stage.”

“Um – okay. Thanks?” He flees the scene immediately, only to arrive at the stage area and find Dawn leaning heavily on Lucas, his suit jacket draped around her shoulders. She’s giggling and her eyes are kind of glazed over, which he instantly recognizes as Very Tipsy Dawn, and he sighs.

Barry knows people expect a lot from Dawn, Sinnoh League Champion, tamer of Legendary Pokemon, and destroyer of Team Galactic, but being a massive lightweight probably isn’t one of those expectations. In other situations he’d be there supporting her, but this has been a very long and frazzling experience and Barry can already feel the annoyance bubbling up and threatening to spill over.

“C’mon,” he tells Lucas, long-suffering. “I’ll help you bring her up.” He moves to Dawn’s other side.

“No, it’s okay,” says Lucas, kind but firm. His grip around Dawn’s shoulders tightens, and she beams at him, nuzzling into his suit jacket. “I’ve got her.”

“Sure, buddy?”

He sends Barry a meaningful look. “Yeah, I’m sure.” Barry watches Lucas murmur something into Dawn’s ear, hears his friend’s bright laughter, and thinks, not for the first time – _they’ll be fine_. He watches them leave, feeling oddly proud, like a mother staraptor whose kids have flown the nest, or something.

He follows them up soon enough, however, not really feeling the party any longer, only to share the elevator with some guy sobbing on the girl next to him. 

“You need help with that?” he asks after a few seconds, because the guy’s sobbing is echoing in the otherwise empty elevator and it’s getting awkward.

The girl turns to him. She looks familiar, long brown hair and bright eyes, but he can’t quite place her. “Yes please,” she says, and when they get off at her floor the skinny dude has one arm around Barry’s shoulder and one arm around the girl’s, and he’s wailing about leaving some girl named Shauntal behind.

“You’re not going to be gone for _long_ ,” she says fondly, after they’ve gotten the guy into bed. “Just a year or so.” She pats his head affectionately, which is kind of adorable because the guy looks older than Barry. “I bet Shauntal won’t even notice you’re gone.”

This starts a whole new sobbing fit, and the girl laughs. “See you tomorrow!”

“Thanks for helping me with Grimsley,” she says once she’s closed his door behind them. “He’s being weirdly sentimental about staying.”

At the mention of the guy’s name, it clicks. “Y-you’re Rosa Blanchard,” he says. “I-I’m a big fan of your movies. And, uh, your Championing.”

She laughs, pleasant, and presses the _down_ button on the elevator. “Oh, those,” she says. “I made them some time ago, but it’s good to know that people still keep up with them. And you are?”

“Barry Rushmore. I’m from Sinnoh – I came here with Dawn, actually?”

“Ah, Dawn! Sinnoh sounds lovely, I’ll try to visit if I can!” She checks her watch. “I better go back down, I haven’t even congratulated the newlyweds yet.”

“Well – I was on my way up, so–”

She smiles sunnily at him. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Barry Rushmore. See you around, I hope!”

Her elevator arrives and she waves goodbye to him, and for the first time in quite a few hours, he genuinely smiles back.

 _It could have been worse_ , he thinks, using his keycard to open their hotel suite. _I did get to meet a movie star._ He checks Lucas’s room first – empty – before peeking into Dawn’s. The hinges creak painfully and he winces, thinking he’ll wake her, but enough light is let into the room that he can see Lucas’s sleeping form curled around Dawn’s, his arm around her waist and her face in his chest. His suit jacket is draped neatly over the desk chair and Dawn’s heels are carefully tucked off to the side of the bed – Lucas’s doing, surely – but her hair is still in its updo and Lucas’s dress pants will surely be wrinkled when he wakes up.

Barry almost laughs to himself. He’ll find out what happened between them in the morning, but for now he slips into his bedroom and readies for bed.

 _Yeah, this could’ve gone way worse_.

\--

**Author's Note:**

> Dumb Sinnoh kids headcanons:  
> 1\. lucas wears polo shirts, chino shorts, and boat shoes, while barry goes full on fratboy-at-the-beach: think his orange shirt, but Exaggeratedly Large Armpit Holes Edition.  
> 2\. lucas’s pokemon are all assholes who tease him about dawn  
> 3\. the sinnoh e4 (currently comprised of flint, bertha, and two people not named aaron and lucian) all like barry because he’s a very endearing character under all the impatience. I actually toyed with having barry be an e4 member under her, but then how would he have all these bro moments along with lucas, amirite.  
> 4\. Age estimates for the Sinnoh kids: 12 in IV, 15 in BW1, 17 in BW2/XY, 19 in SM.
> 
> If it matters, the ‘protagonists’ (as in the characters that went on to challenge the League and become Champion) are Red, Ethan, May, Dawn, Hilbert, and Rosa. I’m leaning towards Calem and Moon/Selene for VI and VII, but we’ll see if we ever need to write them in. It’s hard writing in Championing to the kids’ routines, but on the upside it means I get to write characters like Steven and Cynthia just bummin’ around enjoying life.


End file.
